Dr. Phil McGraw (L) interviews Ronaiah Tuiasosopo on the set of his show in this January 2013 handout photo obtained by Reuters January 30, 2013. (REUTERS/CBS Television Distribution/Peteski Productions/Handout)

Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, the man who masterminded the Manti Te’o girlfriend hoax, apologized to the Notre Dame linebacker publicly on Friday and said he devised the scheme as an escape after being molested as a child.

Tuiasosopo, 22, told Dr. Phil McGraw in the second part of an interview on the “Dr. Phil Show” that he was molested repeatedly by a family friend starting at age 12.

The alleged attacker wasn’t identified and Tuiasosopo didn’t disclose whether he had reported the abuse to authorities.

Teo contends that he devised the false persona of Lennay Kekua to help him live an alternate reality and make him feel that he was a good person after the trauma he experienced as a child.

In the first segment of the interview that was broadcasst Thursday, Tuiasosopo said he was romantically in love with Te’o.